Summary
- The DCEU’s final release, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, underperformed at the box office, leading to a disappointing end for the cinematic universe.
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom did out-gross other 2023 superhero movies, but it still fell short compared to the first Aquaman film.
- Only Aquaman managed to surpass the $1 billion box office mark for the DCEU, making it the lone standout in a series that struggled to find success.
The DCEU‘s final release – Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – makes a disappointing box office result official, leading this cinematic universe to end with a thud instead of a bang. The DCEU is about to be rebooted into the DCU by James Gunn and Peter Safran, and 2023 proved that the reboot is happening at the right time. Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Blue Beetle all flopped at the box office, costing DC and Warner Bros. hundreds of millions of dollars. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was the DCEU’s final hope, and it didn’t perform much better.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom did out-gross the entire 2023 slate plus Black Adam, but it still underperformed, especially when compared to the first film in the series. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s box office results also make a disappointing box office stat official. The DCEU will finish its tenure with only one movie passing an important box-office milestone.
Aquaman 2 Box Office Makes It The Fourth Top-Grossing Superhero Movie Of 2023
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom lands a spot among the highest-grossing superhero movies of 2023, surpassing some unexpected Marvel and DC films.
The DCEU Ends With Only Aquaman Hitting $1 Billion at the Box Office
The DCEU timeline started with Man of Steel in 2013. While the Henry Cavill-led film didn’t light up the box office, it still showed there was promise in this universe if they could get it right. Unfortunately, with several missteps, the universe fell apart rather quickly. Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice did well at the box office, but it received poor reviews, and many criticized its grim tone and attempt to rush its crossover event. Suicide Squad had a similar tone problem, as DC tried to fix the film to give it a lighter vibe, which ultimately didn’t work for the project.
By the time the series got to Justice League, the DCEU was clearly failing to find its footing, and the film underperformed. The main bright spots in this universe came with Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Both had likable heroes and enjoyable stories, and while Aquaman received mixed critical reviews, audiences propelled it to make $1.15 billion worldwide. Unfortunately, Aquaman remained the brightest star in the universe, as the studio never crossed the billion-dollar mark again.
The DCEU Movies That Came Closest To Hitting $1 Billion
|
Film |
Box Office |
|---|---|
|
Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice |
$874.3 million |
|
Wonder Woman |
$823.97 million |
|
Suicide Squad |
$749.2 million |
|
Man of Steel |
$670.1 million |
|
Justice League |
$661.3 million |
Besides Aquaman, only three other movies ever stood a chance of getting to $1 billion in the DCEU. Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice came the closest, grossing $874.3 million, with Wonder Woman in second and Suicide Squad in third. Two other films, Man of Steel and Justice League, made over $650 million but didn’t come close to the billion-dollar mark. Joker and The Batman performed well, but these films exist outside the DCEU. Other than that, the studio had no other films that cracked $500 million, a feat that makes the DCEU‘s box office results look even worse.
Source: Box Office Mojo
